You’ve made the huge decision to switch to a new applicant tracking system—congratulations! Many staffing and recruiting agencies put this off for far too long. They think switching to a new applicant tracking system is too complicated and will take ample amounts of time. Instead of finding a new ATS, some agencies stick with their current software even if it no longer helps their business.

Truthfully, it doesn’t have to be that way—especially when you choose a vendor that has several years of experience of handling data migrations. At Mindscope, we’re sure that you’ll feel more confident about switching to a new applicant tracking system when you understand each stage that’s involved. We’ll walk you through the different stages you should expect to go through once you’ve committed to getting a new ATS.

Review and clean-up your applicant tracking system data

It’s very likely you’ve accumulated a mass amount of information in your applicant tracking system over the years. Now that you’ve decided to move forward with a new provider, this is the perfect time for you to take a closer look at your data. You can clean up any old and irrelevant details that no longer serve your business.

As you go through this stage, you might find that you have hundreds of candidates in your database that you haven’t spoken to in several years. You need to decide if this data is relevant to carry over to your new ATS. By cleaning up any “dead” data, not only does it declutter your system, it also helps speed up the data migration process significantly.

Data migration – moving your data from one applicant tracking system to another

The data migration process usually involves a few stages: data export, data import, auditing and testing. “We’re experts at data migrations and have conducted hundreds in the past from various systems. How long the process takes depends on which ATS the client is switching from, and if we’ve worked with the vendor in the past,” says Josh Trujillo, COO of Mindscope.

We suggest that once you know you’re switching ATS providers that you contact your current ATS vendor right away to ask them to prepare and export your data. At this stage, both vendors need to be involved to migrate your business’s data successfully. The sooner you collect your data from your current ATS provider, the quicker the whole process will be.

To do your due diligence, you should ask your new ATS provider how long the data migration will take. When you choose Mindscope as your applicant tracking system, we’re able to complete your data migration in 12 weeks or less. The time this process takes is also dependent on how complex the project is and how responsive all parties involved are. “The number of drafts we have to do to get the data clean and into Mindscope also determines how long this process will take,” says Josh, “but with thorough communication on both ends, it’s a smooth experience.”

Test and verify your ATS data

We’ll transfer your data to Mindscope over the course of 12 weeks. This is done in three phases. Each time we transfer a batch of information, you’ll review and verify it. During these periods, you’ll inspect the data to ensure that everything is in place and that nothing’s missing.

Set-up and customization of your new applicant tracking system

Mindscope is highly customizable. Whether you’re a small agency with a handful of recruiters or a booming company with hundreds of users, we’re able to tailor the software to meet your business unique requirements.

The typical set-up process goes like this: a training and implementation specialist will meet with you to understand your company’s entire workflow and business needs. With all of these details on hand, the specialist will then set-up your applicant tracking system to best suit your company. For example, if you’d like to restrict certain users to accessing specific sets of data, they’ll configure the ATS accordingly.

Training – Learn how to use your new ATS software

With a brand new applicant tracking system, it’s important that you and every member of your team knows how to use it to its utmost potential. Training and implementation specialists will design a training program to ensure your entire team has a solid foundation of the software.

After training the team, they’ll do a more in-depth training with your Mindscope admins for two additional hours. These training sessions can be either in-person or remote—it’s up to you. We know that learning a new system can be a bit daunting for teams, so we’re here to help make the transition as smooth as possible.

Even when the training session is over, the support doesn’t stop. We have hundreds of videos to show users how to navigate Mindscope. Whenever you need technical support, you can book appointments online or call our support team. We’re proud to have received many reviews from happy customers raving about the customer service we deliver!

Choose the ATS add-ons that make sense for your business

When you choose Mindscope, your plan comes with the majority of its features at no extra cost (unlike many other ATS systems). However, as your business evolves and your team grows, there may be certain additional tools that you’d like to have with your ATS. One of the most common and valuable add-on features we offer is a customized client portal. We can build a client portal for you so you can show your clients what you’re working on—this provides an added sense of transparency for the entire team.

Other popular add-ons and integrations that our customers love include:

Get ready to take your business to the next level

We know that switching to a new ATS is a big decision. It’s important that you choose an ATS provider that has lots of experience in helping businesses transition from one provider to their own system. Ask as many questions as you can, such as how long the transition will take and how long the expected downtime will be.

The best thing you can do is learn as much as you can about the process of switching vendors so you can be prepared no matter what.

Are you searching for a new applicant tracking system? We’d be happy to have a chat about your business needs. Book your free demo today.

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Mindscope is an intuitive, all-in-one applicant tracking system and industry-specific CRM. Thousands of recruiters from around the world rely on Mindscope’s innovative features and integrations to increase quality placements and outperform their competition every day.